The Fight Over Funding The DHS

1A

NPR

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4.3 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 3 March 2026

⏱️ 33 minutes

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Summary

For months, the Department of Homeland Security has been plagued by allegations of chaos. Meanwhile, the funding fight over DHS and a partial government shutdown continues.

Now, U.S. and Israeli airstrikes in Iran over the weekend are adding pressure for Congress to reach a funding agreement for the agency amid national security concerns.

What’s happening at DHS? We sit down with a panel of experts to find out.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for NPR and the following message come from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation,
0:05.4	investing in creative thinkers and problem solvers who help people, communities, and the planet flourish.
0:11.1	More information is available at Hewlett.org. The Department of Homeland Security has been plagued by a host of allegations over the last few months.
0:27.4	One example, that top ICE officials knew as early as March 24 that federal agents were using increasing levels of force on civilians.
0:36.2	That's long before Alex Pretti and Renee Maclin
0:38.7	Good were shot and killed by federal immigration agents in Minnesota. That's according to internal
0:43.4	emails obtained by the left-leaning watchdog nonprofit American oversight. Protests also erupted on
0:49.3	Columbia University's campus last week after ICE agents detained student Eli Aga Yevo, who was released that same
0:56.1	day. The school alleges federal agents entered a university-owned building under false pretenses,
1:02.0	claiming that they were searching for a missing child. This all comes as DHS remains technically
1:06.9	shut down over a funding fight in Congress, with Democrats demanding changes to
1:11.1	ISIS tactics before agreeing to a funding bill. While the shutdown has affected ICE, U.S. Customs, and Border
1:17.0	Protection in FEMA, 95 percent of TSA officials continue working at commercial airports without pay.
1:23.9	The vast majority of Secret Service and U.S. Coast Guard employees have also continued working.
1:28.9	Meanwhile, with the U.S. waging war on Iran, DHS is facing new pressure to fully reopen given national security concerns.
1:36.9	I'm Jen White. You're listening to the WhatA Podcast. We'll be back with more after this short break. Stay with us.
1:49.2	Support for NPR and the following message come from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, investing in creative thinkers and problem
1:54.3	solvers who help people, communities, and the planet flourish. More information is available at
1:59.6	hulet.org. Let's get available at Hewlett.org.
2:04.1	Let's get into the conversation and meet our panel.
2:08.7	Joining us to talk about what's going on at DHS right now is Eric Bazelle email.
2:13.6	He's a national security reporter for Politico with a focus on the Department of Homeland Security.
	...

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